May brings broader return of PennDOT road work under eased covid-19 restrictions

PennDOT crews and contractors will ramp up work on area road and bridge projects in May, under state guidelines for phasing in construction work during the covid-19 pandemic.

Among the first projects expected to proceed in Westmoreland County are work on a truck-climbing lane on Route 356 in Allegheny Township, reconstruction of Route 906 in Monessen and repair of guardrails along Interstate 70, according to Jay Ofsanik, a PennDOT spokesman.

In Allegheny County, preservation work is set to start Monday on bridges that carry Route 30 over East Pittsburgh-McKeesport Boulevard. Single-lane restrictions are planned on Route 30.

The work is part of a $13.5 million project that includes milling, resurfacing, drainage improvements and traffic signal upgrades on Route 30 between Lenox Avenue in Forest Hills and Route 48 in North Versailles.

Weather permitting, a $4.26 million improvement project will begin Monday on Route 8 in Hampton and Richland townships. Milling, paving and patching are slated between Wildwood Road and Northtowne Square. Work is expected to wrap up in early December.

Single-lane closures are slated on Route 8 for that project and for a gas line replacement, also beginning Monday, between Talley Cavey Road and Woodland Circle in Hampton.

Work to clean up a slide will close a section of Indiana Road in Penn Hills from 7 a.m. Monday through late July. Traffic will be detoured around the closure, between Hulton and Hamil roads.

Additionally set to begin Monday are road improvements on Route 885 in Allegheny County and on Route 18 in Beaver County.

“Many other projects have been approved to restart,” said PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan. “However, motorists may not see physical work begin on May 1 as contractors will be working on utility coordination, material orders and equipment mobilization, as well as other pre-construction preparations.”

Gov. Tom Wolf paused highway and bridge construction work on March 17 to minimize potential coronavirus exposure to workers. On March 31, he gave the go-ahead for projects of a critical or emergency nature.

Area work that began then included a $4 million repair of a large sinkhole along Route 30 at the Greensburg-Hempfield border. Ofsanik said Thursday most of that project is finished, save for paving a short section of Towne Square Drive and some restoration work, which should be finished by mid-May.

In Washington County, work has been under way to reconstruct I-70 between the Interstate 79 South Junction and Route 519 in South Strabane. As May begins, construction is scheduled to shift to the eastbound lanes of I-70.

In North Strabane, additional work is in progress on realigning the intersection of Route 980 with a widened section of Route 519.

The latest state guidance allows PennDOT projects to resume as long as workers can follow social distancing and other covid-19 safety protocols at the job site.